The Assignment Agreement
by RaeRae11o7
Summary: Ally Dawson appears to be a typical high school girl. Do your homework. Get good grades. Look pretty. Have a best friend. Austin Moon appears to be a typical high school guy. Do your homework. Get good grades. Play a sport. Have a best friend. But they both have something to hide. That is, until a school project entitles them to tell everything about themselves. No lies accepted.
1. I: Ally

**Summary: **Ally Dawson appears to be a typical high school girl. Do your homework. Get good grades. Look pretty. Have a best friend. Austin Moon appears to be typical high school guy. Do your homework. Get good grades. Play a sport. Have a best friend. But they both have something to hide. That is, until a school project entitles them to tell everything about themselves. No lies accepted.

* * *

><p><strong>Ally's POV<strong>

"Hey Trish!" I called as I ran down the hallway toward her. She turned away from whoever she was talking to to face me.

"Ally! What's up?" I ran up in front of her and bent over to catch my breath.

"Are you okay?" The girl behind Trish asked. I waved my hand at her and nodded my head.

"I'll text you later Katie." Trish told the girl, Katie, and then waved to her. Katie turned away and ran down the hallway.

"Trish- Boom- New- Colorful- Money- Job-Great!" I made out between breaths. I felt Trish's hand on my back.

"Deep breaths Ally. In and out. In and out. In and out." She instructed, breathing in and out as she told me to. I took a few deep breaths with her and nodded my head.

"Okay. I'm good." I smiled and nodded again.

"Okay. Now what were you trying to tell me?"

"Sonic Boom got new guitars and they're bringing in a whole lot of money because they're so colorful and pretty. So, he needs more help at the store and I suggested you! You got a job! Isn't that great?" I screamed.

"Oh my gosh! Ally!" She grabbed my arms and I grabbed hers. We both squealed and started jumping in a circle.

"I know! You're welcome!" She wrapped me in a tight hug and I immediately hugged back.

"Ally! We get to work together!" I pulled away and gave her a cold glare.

"Unless you get fired in a few days."

"I promise I'll try my best." I try to keep my straight face while she gives me sad puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh! Okay!" I break into a huge smile and hug her again. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Whoa ladies. What's with all the squealing?" I turn around to see Elliot walking up with Cassidy.

"Yea. I could hear you down the hall." Cassidy smirks.

"I got a job!" Trish screams. Elliot stands next to me and drapes his arm across my shoulder.

"So what's new exactly?" He asks and Trish visibly starts pouting.

"It's at Sonic Boom with me." I explain. His mouth forms an 'O' and I nod at him.

"When she gets fired can I work there?" Cassidy asks. Trish smacks her arm. "Ow! Sorry, but we all know it's going to happen eventually."

"True." I agree.

"Yup." Elliot shrugs.

"You guys are mean! I bet I could keep this job for at least a whole month!"

"You wanna bet?" Elliot steps forward, yanking me with him.

"Twenty bucks." She looks to me and then Cassidy. "Each."

"Fine." I shrug. "But when you lose, you owe each of us twenty."

"If!" She screams.

"Okay. It's a deal." Cassidy and Trish shake hands.

"It's on Trish." Elliot sticks his hand out and Trish shakes it firmly.

"Fine by me." She shakes my hand and backs away crossing her arms. "I could use a new pair of shoes."

"Ugh!" Trish throws her hands up in exasperation and walks down the hallway behind us. Cassidy, Elliot, and I all start laughing and she groans before she turns the corner.

"How long do you think it'll take her?" Elliot asks. I turn to my locker and twist in the combination.

"I give it a week. Tops." Cassidy suggests.

"Come on guys. Have some faith in Trish. I give her two weeks." I pull my Spanish and Math book out of my locker and slam it shut. "She's got some determination now." Cassidy shrugs and Elliot shakes his head.

"No way. She's way too lazy."

"I don't know. She may be lazy. But she's Trish. She won't willingly give up sixty bucks."

"Still don't think she can do it."

"Hey guys. I gotta go. My class is a few halls down and we only have a minute and a half." Cassidy speaks up.

"Okay. Good luck on your English presentation today." I hug her quickly.

"Thanks!" She turns and walks down the hallway, talking to some guy that's probably in her class. I think I've talked to him a few times, but he hangs out in the popular crowd, so we don't get the chance very often. He's not a jerk or anything, I just don't need to get to know him, you know? But, I'm not gonna lie, he is very attractive, with his golden blonde hair and his eyes are this really deep brown and...

"So Ally-cat, what's up?" Elliot slides his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. I laugh and push him away, pushing my thoughts about Cassidy's friend away and refocusing on Elliot. Cassidy laughed at something and turned toward me, wiggling her eyebrows and winking at me. Was she watching me? Or talking about me? What were her and the boy talking about?

"I told you I hate that nickname." I laugh again and turn to walk to Spanish, away from Cassidy's line of sight. Elliot walks up next to me and grabs my hand, swinging it back and forth.

"But I need a nickname for my best friend." He whines.

"How about Ally?" I suggest. He groans and bumps his hip with mine.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. I do."

"So what can I call you?"

"Ally until you think of a nickname that I don't hate." He smiles and shakes his head.

"Fair enough." We walk into Spanish and sit down in the front row, me by the window and Elliot next to me.

"Is Brooke here today?" I ask. She usually sits behind me, but her seat is empty and I didn't see her this morning.

"Maybe she's just running late."

"Maybe." I shrug and set my Spanish book on my desk. The teacher has bellwork up on the board and I always do it as soon as I get in the room. It's just conjugations. Easy peasy. I start on the work, writing everything down in my notebook while Elliot plays on his phone. Not everyone in my friend group is as serious about school as I am.

"Oh my gosh! Ally look!" Elliot nudges my shoulder and I look up. He points out the door into the hallway. I follow his finger to see Dallas, another one of our friends, making out with some girl in the hallway. It's nothing new. He's kind of a player.

"What? It's just Dallas." I shrug and look back at Elliot. He's staring at the couple and his eyes are literally popping out of his head.

"But look who Dallas is _with._" I look back.

"It's just some gi-" My mouth falls open before I can finish because the couple pulls apart to hug.

"Exactly." I gape at Elliot and he smirks.

"That's Brooke!" I whisper shout as she walks in the room.

"Hey guys!" She chirps.

"Hey Brooke." Elliot waves and she sits behind me.

"What's up?"

"Hey Brooke. Not much. Trish got a job at Sonic Boom."

"Do you have a backup ready?" She asks, her face completely serious.

"Ha! I told you!" Elliot screams and practically jumps out of his desk.

"No! I think she can last at least two weeks!" I whine at Elliot.

"Whatever." Brooke smiles, laughs, and shakes her head.

"You guys are mean." I slump in my seat and cross my arms.

"You know you believe it Ally." Elliot teases. I roll my eyes and the bell rings. Our teacher walks in the room followed by a few stragglers who ran in late.

"Okay class. Today we are learning about the imperfect conjugations."

* * *

><p>"I know what we should do." Cassidy smiled. Her eyes gleamed and we all automatically shook our heads no.<p>

We were all at my house. By we I meant our whole group, Cassidy, Brooke, Trish, Me, Dallas, Elliot, Travis, Anthony, Margaret, and Sarah. This rarely happens. It was Friday night and I suggested a sleepover. We all hang out until we want to sleep, then the girls stay here and the guys go next door to Elliot's house. It works really well.

But this time, we were all really bored. We already watched a movie, ate popcorn, told jokes, caught up with each other, play Just Dance 2014, made cookies, that were still cooking, and had staring contests. Yea. We were that bored. There isn't much else you can do at a hang out.

"Why not?" Cassidy whined.

"Because last time we did what you suggested Brooke went home crying, Margaret and Travis had to make out and then wouldn't talk to each other for a week, and Trish almost broke her arm." Dallas deadpanned.

"Okay, so maybe playing house like we were kids again wasn't a good idea." She shrugged and everyone else rolled their eyes. "But I was just going to suggest truth or dare."

"I'm actually okay with that." I answered.

"Sure, why not?" Elliot asked.

"Okay." Trish nodded her head.

"I'm game." Dallas teased.

"Why not?" Brooke shrugged.

"Sounds fun." Travis said.

"Wow. A good idea from Cassidy for once." Anthony smirked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Let's play!" Sarah squealed.

"I don't know guys. This game could get ugly." Margaret shook her head.

"We already know everything about each other. What could go wrong?" Trish explained.

"Yeah. I'm sure it'll be fine." Travis tried to reassure her and threw and arm around her shoulder. They have been closer since that make out session.

"Okay. Let's play." She sighed.

"Yay! Cassidy wins." Cassidy cheered and clapped her hands. "So who's going first?"

"I will." Dallas shrugged. "Um. Sarah. Truth or Dare?"

"Easy. Truth." She answered.

"You're boring!" Anthony groaned. She elbowed him in the ribs.

"Okay. Out of all the guys in this group," He gestured around, "Who would you make out with?"

"Anthony."

"What?!" Elliot shrieked. "Why him?"

"He's the hottest."

"It's true." Cassidy agreed with her and they high-fived.

"Who do you think is hottest Ally?" Elliot turned to me.

"It's not my turn to answer." I smiled innocently.

"Fine. Go Sarah." He sighed.

"Um. Let's see. Cassidy. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to run outside, down the street and back, in your bra."

"Do I get to wear pants?" Cassidy asked, which caused us all to burst out laughing.

"Yes. Just no shirt." Sarah clarified.

"Okay. I'll do it." She stood up and walked over to the door. We all stood up and followed as she lifted her shirt above her head revealing her black bra with bright pink polka-dots. She smirked at us and bolted out the door. We all ran onto the front lawn to watch her, gathering in the cool night air. The moon shone above our heads and the stars twinkled in the dark. There was a slight breeze, blowing the trees and causing a small rustling sound to fill the silence of the night.

Cassidy ran down to the corner and stopped, turning around and waving at us. We all waved back and started laughing. I can't believe she actually went through with this. I would've said no and accepted the shame of eating a spoonful of mayo and ketchup mixed together, sprinkled with cinnamon and pepper. It would have been better.

She ran out of view to the right and we all looked around at each other shrugging.

"Where'd she go?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know. Should we go check on her?" Elliot spoke up behind me. I shrugged.

"Maybe." I suggested.

"I'll go get her." Dallas offered and started jogging down the street. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped almost instantly, causing a shiver to run down my spine. Elliot noticed and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me up against him, and resting his chin on my shoulder.

We sat there and waited for another five minutes before two figures ran back toward the street. The whole group let out a sigh of relief and turned to walk back into my house. Elliot kept one hand around my waist as we walked in. I saw Trish wink at me and then her and Sarah started giggling.

What even?

We all sat back down in the living room, filing onto the couches because we left the door open and it made the wooden floors freezing. Trish sat on the end, followed by Sarah, Brooke, Margaret, Travis, Anthony, an empty spot, me, and then Elliot on the other end. It helped when you had a wraparound couch that sat in the corner of your living room, taking up two walls. Cassidy and Dallas walked in laughing. Dallas sat down next to me and Anthony while Cassidy put her shirt back on. She walked over and noticed there were no open seats.

"Okay, everyone squish." She whined.

"There's no more roo-" I was cut off as Elliot wrapped his arm around my hip and pulled my onto his lap. He removed his hand and patted the seat where I was for Cassidy to sit down, which she gladly accepted. He rested his hand on my thigh while he leaned back against the couch to see everyone else. Trish smirked at me and winked again.

That sent her, Brooke, Sarah, and Margaret into a fit of giggles.

What was I missing?

"So Cassidy, who's up?" Dallas spoke up.

"Um, Ally. Truth or dare?" I snapped out of my train of thought about what Trish and Sarah could be whispering about on the other side of the couch to stare at Cassidy.

"What?" I asked. She laughed and patted my knee.

"Truth or dare dear?"

"I'm going to go with truth." I answered. I was never really one for the dares, especially if we were starting the night of with stripping in the freezing cold. It was January for God's sake! Even if we did live in Miami, it got cold!

"Fine." She pouted. "Who do you like?"

"That's so generic." I flat lined.

"Well sorry if you gave me a boring topic." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Okay. Okay. Whatever." Who _did _I like? I mean, there were some cute guys in some of my classes, but not any that made me nervous or blush or anything.

"Well?" Cassidy urged me.

"Nobody I guess." She gasped and Trish's hand rose to her mouth.

"Liar!" Sarah screamed.

"No. I really don't."

"How could you not like anyone?" Cassidy asked. Well, there are plenty of attractive guys at Marino, but I don't think I like any.

"I don't know. Who do you like?"

"Well, there's this guy in my English class. We don't talk much outside of class, but he's really hot and kind of smart."

"What's his name?" Margaret spoke up.

"Austin." I felt my cheeks heat up. That name sounds familiar. I think that was the guy Cassidy was talking to.

"Like Austin Johnson? Ew. He's gross." Trish faked puked and I bit my tongue to stop my giggle.

"No. Austin Moon you oaf." Cassidy snapped. Yea. That's the one. With his dreamy eyes and those muscles that could honestly kill.

"Oh! He's cute!" Sarah chirped. More like a Greek God.

"Why don't we all just share who we like?" Elliot suggested, looking up at me. Wait. What's going on again? Oh yea, truth or dare.

"Sure." Anthony agreed.

"Let's start with Trish." I smirked. She scoffed at me and frowned.

"Fine. I like this kid Trent. He hangs out with Austin I think."

"Yea. I think I know him." Cassidy tapped her chin. "He's cute. Nice."

"I like SAM FRANK! He's gorgeous!" Sarah screamed. She sighed and stared of into space, going into daydream mode.

"He's in my Chemistry class. I could talk to him for you." I suggest.

"Really?" She screams and runs over to me to give me a huge hug. I laugh and almost fall of Elliot's lap until he wraps his arms around my waist to steady me. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Anytime." I laugh again and she sits back down.

"Um, well..." Brooke trails off.

"We already know who Brooke likes." Elliot teases. I can't even see his face from this angle and I know he's smirking.

"Who?" Travis asks.

"Dallas." Now I smirk as Dallas and Brooke go beet red.

"How did you know?" Dallas asked.

"We saw you making out right outside Spanish this morning." Elliot teases him again.

"Aww! You guys are adorable." Cassidy starts fangirlling and runs over to Brooke to talk. They both sit on the ground and make hilarious hand gestures. They've been best friends since first grade, so when they get like this, we let them have their moment.

"So Margaret?" I ask, changing the subject so Dallas can finally breathe again.

"Um. I like Brad Hill. He's this really quiet kid in my History class."

"That's cool. Maybe you can bring him to hang out with us one time." I nod and gesture around the group as everyone nods with me.

"Maybe I will." She smiles and relaxes back, taking out her phone to text someone.

"I like Kira Starr. She's the hottest girl in this school." Travis smirks and high fives Anthony.

"I like Chelsea Mayor. She has flawless skin and is super smart." Anthony swoons. I again stifle a giggle and can see almost the rest of the group is to.

"We know Dallas. We know Ally likes _nobody._" Trish lists of the rests of us.

"I really don't!" I sigh exasperated.

"Sure. So how about you Elliot?" Trish asks, wriggling her eyebrows. He clears his throat and I slid off his lap to where Cassidy was sitting while she's still on the ground with Brooke.

"Um." He rubs the back of his neck with his hand. That's his tell for when he's nervous. When he lies, he plays with his sleeve or the hem of his shirt. When he's scared, he moves his feet a lot. When he's nervous, he rubs the back of his neck.

"Why are you nervous? None of us are going to judge you." I ensure to him.

"It's, uh, it's someone in this room." He looks down at his hands and I look around at all the girls. I wonder who Elliot likes. And why is he so afraid to tell us. We've had crushes within the group before. It didn't make anything awkward. If anything, it brought us closer. We tease each other about it and then laugh and get to know the person.

So what's the big deal?

"Trish?" I ask.

"No." He shakes his head.

"Cassidy?"

"No." His voice gets quieter.

"Sarah?"

"No." His voice cracks slightly.

"Margaret?"

"No." I can barely hear him. There are only me and Brooke left. Oh. It's probably Brooke and now that she and Dallas are going out, he doesn't want to start anything. It makes perfect sense.

"Brooke?" I bring my voice down to a whisper so only he can hear it. He doesn't answer and I pull away to look at him. The room falls silent and all eyes are on us.

He shakes his head.

Realization hits. He likes me. _He _likes _me. _My best friend since we were three years old likes me. My neighbor since fourth grade when his parents were looking for a smaller house and we begged for months because the people next door to me moved out. The guy who knows more about me than anyone else in the world. He knows all my secrets. All my stories. Every lie I've ever told, he knows the truth.

And he likes me.

"I, uh, I need some fresh air." I mutter and stand up to walk onto the porch. Everyone starts comforting Elliot once I step outside. I sit on the porch swing and pull my arms around myself. This changes things. I don't like him back. How can I let him be as close to me? Of course I still want him to be my best friend. I still want him to know all my secrets and be there when I need to cry or when I'm sick. I want him to be that shoulder I can lean on when I can't make it on my own. But I don't want him to be anything more. I don't want to take that chance and lose what we have. It's not worth it when I know I don't like him back.

So what do I do? I can't let him lean all over me like he used to. I was sitting on his lap for Pete's sake! He can't hold my hand anymore or wrap his arm around my waist. And I can't let him.

I need a distraction. Something to take up my time so he's not as close to me as he is now. So that I can give him some space to get over whatever he's feeling and bring things back to normal.

But I don't want to lose him. So I have to do this carefully. Delicately almost. Like balancing a piece of glass on a stick. You can't let it break.

"Ally?" I look up and see Anthony standing in front of me. I let out a sigh of relief and he sits down next to me. I close my eyes and let out another sigh.

"How bad is he?" I whisper.

"He's pretty upset, but he can't say he didn't see this coming."

"I feel awful. I mean, he's still my best friend. He always will be." I open my eyes and shift to face Anthony. "But I just don't like him like that."

"Are you sure?" He raises his eyebrows and I look at my lap.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"So..."

"I don't know Anthony!" I threw my arms in the air and jumped to my feet.

"Ally."

"I just... I need to think about it. I've never thought of Elliot that way before."

"Maybe you should tell him that." I stopped pacing and looked at Anthony. He made eye contact nodded and stood up. "He deserves at least that." He squeezed my shoulder and walked back inside.

"Ugh! That didn't help me!" I screamed at the door. I sat back down on the bench and leaned over, resting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.

Maybe I did like Elliot. I was so comfortable around him. He knew everything about me and I knew everything about him. We were closer than anyone I've ever met. Everyone assumed we were dating until we told them otherwise. So, what would be the difference?

Stress.

Pressure.

Kissing.

There would be a big difference. I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship. There's too much at risk. I would have to prove to him that I think it's all worth it, when I don't think it is.

And we would kiss.

What if I agreed to this and we kissed and I didn't feel anything. That would ruin everything.

But it's Elliot. He's the sweetest guy I've ever met. He's gorgeous and tall and muscular. He knows how to be a gentleman and how to make me smile. I feel so safe with him and when we hang out, the world seems to disappear.

But does that mean I like him?

"Ally?" I look up and see Elliot in the doorway, leaning his head out, but still covering his body like he's afraid to be in plain sight.

"Elliot. I can explain." I stand up and grab his hand, pulling him outside while he closes the door behind him.

"Ally. I get it."

"No. Elliot. Let me talk." He nods slowly and we both sit on the bench. I don't let go of his hand. "I love you because you're my best friend. But, I don't know if you're more than that. I've never actually thought about you that way before so I can't even consider it right now. But I don't want things to change between us, so can things just go back to the way they were before and we forget this happened while I think about?"

"You aren't really forgetting if you're thinking about it." Elliot smirked at me and a smile crept onto my cheeks. I lightly shoved his arm and we both started laughing.

That was when I knew things would still be okay between us.

* * *

><p>"Ally!" Trish called my name and I started laughing.<p>

"Not me again!"

We were playing this game that my group made up. We make a pile of notecards with a bunch of insane scenarios on them. Some of them are like...

_Get caught making out in the janitor's closet at school._

Or...

_Buy a cat on the internet._

Then we randomly draw a card out of the middle and read it out loud. Everybody in the group has a whiteboard. Or a piece of paper and a pencil. Depending on whose house we're at. You write a name of someone in the group that's most likely to be stuck in that situation. Then we go around the group and each share who we picked and why.

Sometimes, to make it more interesting we play a charades version were you write crazy actions or something on the notecards and pick who would be most likely to be caught doing that like...

_Singing with their hairbrush._

Or...

_Running into a famous person and knocking them over._

Then, whoever has the most 'votes' has to act out that action in the middle of the group.

It's always hilarious.

At the moment we were playing the original version and the notecard in the middle read...

_Get chewed up gum stuck in their hair._

Six people had gone already.

Dallas picked Brooke because they tease each other all the time now. We all found out about them dating on Friday at the sleepover at my house and now it's Sunday and we're all at Anthony's house.

Brooke obviously picked Dallas. We've been through eighth rounds and they've only picked each other. Honestly, it's obnoxious, but none of us want to say anything and start a fight in the group. That only leads to chaos.

Margaret said me and explained it that I had the longest hair, which isn't even true because Trish's hair is longer, but it doesn't really matter.

Cassidy said me because she can see me studying until three in the morning and falling asleep without warning while chewing gum and then waking up with it in my hair. It actually makes sense though, so I can't argue against her.

Anthony said Trish because she has really thick curly hair and she's really clumsy, so it would fall out of her mouth and while she went to grab it, it would get tangled in her curls and get stuck. She pouted for a little, but got over it.

Then there was Trish and that's where we are now.

"Yes! It's totally you!" She smiles and sets her whiteboard down in front of her crosses her arms.

"How is it me?" I raise my eyebrows and glance around the group for support. Everyone is staring at Trish for her answer.

"Because I can see you at school drooling over some guy while twirling your hair..." She twirls her hair and pretends to chew gum for emphasis. "And then you would drop the gum in your hair because you would be so into this guy that you wouldn't even know what's going on."

"That would never happen." I cross my arms and smile at her because she's Trish and even when she's annoying, I can't be mad at her.

"Yea it would. It happened Friday morning." Cassidy piped up.

"What! With who?" I stuttered slightly and stared wide-eyed at Cassidy.

"I saw you eyeing Austin. Don't lie to me."

"Cassidy..."

"Ally. Don't even lie to me. I'll know."

"I know you will." I rolled my eyes. Cassidy has this telepathic power that makes it impossible to lie to her. She always finds out. "Okay. So I think he's attractive, but I don't like him and even if I did, I wouldn't do anything about it because you like him." I shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I don't even like him anymore."

"Cassidy. You said you liked him TWO DAYS AGO." Trish scoffed. "How are you over him?"

"I met this guy at the mall yesterday." Cassidy shrugged.

"Oh my God, you're delirious." I roll my eyes at her and laugh.

"You can have him." Cassidy winks at me and I roll my eyes again.

"I don't want him." I laugh. Elliot smiles to my right and I feel the urge to roll my eyes again. But this is Elliot. I'm just being stupid. I shove his shoulder lightly and laugh. "I've got everybody I need here in this circle."

"Whatever." Cassidy smiles and everyone turns to Anthony to reveal his whiteboard.

* * *

><p>"Today in class you will pick partner for your new beginning of the year project!" Mr. Thompson enthusiastically waved his arms around at his desk. "I'll be handing out the papers now. When you get your paper you may pick your partner." He started walking down the first row of desks, placing a sheet on each one. "For the first half of your project, you and your partner will make a video about your life at Marino high as juniors. It should include your memories of the year so far: who your friends were, who your enemies were, and any major events that happened, and so on." He started walking back up the second row. "You will include your hopes and dreams for your senior year. But, the only catch is, they have to be hopes and dreams that you and your partner share. So if only one of you want to, say, go to prom, then you can't include it in the video. To go along with the video, each of you will create a checklist. These will be completely separate. The list will be typed, colored, and laminated. It will be a list of everything you want to do senior year. I know some of you won't even use it when senior year comes around because I won't be your teacher and I won't be able to make you, but you will still make it for this class now. The project is not due until the day before finals, so you all have four weeks." He started walking down the third row where I was seated. I waited patiently while he handed the paper to the girls in front of me.<p>

"Ally." I heard Trish whisper yell beside me.

"What?" I whisper back.

"You wanna be my partner?"

"Of course. The only other people I can tolerate in this class are Brooke and Dallas and we all know that they're working together." I chuckle and Mr. Thompson places a rubric on my desk. "Thank you." I smile. He nods and I turn back to Trish.

"Cool."

"Hey. Did he ever explain the second half of the project?"

"Um... No not yet."

"Huh?" I pick up the rubric and read it over as he comes back up the last row where Trish is, but it only goes over the first half that he already explained. Mr. Thompson returned to the front of the room and sat on his desk, facing toward the class.

"Now. For the second half of the project. In two weeks, the first half of your project will be due. That is the regular partner video. But when you finish that, I will pick another pair of partners to match with you. That group will watch each other's video and split into two new partnerships. With your new partner, you will learn about what they want for their senior year and how they spent their junior year. You each will make separate videos about what that person taught you and how they effected your choices for senior year. Then, you will type up a new checklist and I will grade you on the amount of change it made from the first one."

"Are we presenting the videos to the class?" Some girl in the back of the room raised her hand and started talking before Mr. Thompson even called on her.

"No. The only people to watch the first video will be me and the partners I pair you with. The only people that will see your second video will be your new partner and me. So, any other questions?"

Trish raised her hand.

"Are you picking our original partners?"

"No. I just pick the group match up. You pick your original partners. With that said, go find your partners now." He clapped his hands and sat back down at his desk, finding something on his computer instantly interesting.

"So Trish. My house after school today?" I ask.

"Sounds great. Can I just ride home with you? Cassidy drove me to school today."

"Well, Elliot drove me, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind driving you."

"So what's up with you and Elliot?" Trish asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Nothing. Honestly, everything is back to the way it used to be. You know, before truth or dare."

"So back to hopeless flirting and inappropriate touching as the _best friends _you are?"

"No Trish. Back to Ally and Elliot. The way we belong."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey. So, I don't want to do author notes at the end on this story like I did with my last one, so this will be the one and only author note at the end of the story. I will however, do shout outs at the beginning and all author notes will be there. I will also answer any questions you guys have for me.<strong>

**Today is Sunday, so I think I'm going to stick with this and post a chapter every Sunday. I may be a little late, or a little early, but Sunday is the goal. This will be a longer story. Austin and Ally will obviously end up together (duh), but I'm going to work up to it. It will take a while. Be patient.**

**I have a wattpad. I am currently writing a story called Crumpled and Torn. My account is RaeRae11o7. You should check me out.**

**Please review what you think and tell me if I should continue. The chapter's will alternate point of view's and I might throw in a few surprise POV chapters.**

**Got any questions for me? Ask in your review! I'll answer them all.**

**Love Ya'll!**


	2. II: Austin

**Hey everyone! So I got some reviews and I'm gonna do shout-outs first!**

_**SkinnyJeansNLattes:** Thanks for the first review! I was really happy when I saw people were actually reading my story. I will keep writing. I will keep shining. And as long as people like my stories, I will keep trying! Hopefully you stay in love with this! Thanks again._

**_StoryandSongwriter101:_**_Thanks for the review first off. And I wish I could update more than once a week also, but I have lots of homework because I'm taking higher classes and I like my chapters to be longer. Plus, I rewrite and review and edit my stories before I post them. But I will definitely try! Maybe every few weeks I'll through in a bonus chapter just for you. They might even contain a few surprises ;) Look out!_

_**Sandra (Guest): **Thanks for reading! And I'm making lots more chapters XD_

**_Emma111:_**_Right off the bat, I love how simple your penname is. Just saying. But thanks and here's your update Emma!_

**_ 01:_**_THANKS FOR THE REVIEW! I DIDN'T KNOW MY STORY WAS THAT GOOD XD! But if you liked that, then wait until we get into the actual story. That chapter (and this one) are intros into the characters and the story, but next chapter things start. Promise it'll get even better! So keep reading and reviewing! Thanks again._

**And I also got a lot of story followers! Like ten I think... Thanks you guys!**

**1)** _Playing in the Sun_

**2) **_TheLightBeforeWeLand (btw love the penname)_

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**4) **_gracep111_

**5)** _I am addicted to FanFiction (I want your penname)_

**6) **_StoryandSongwriter101_

**7)** _SakuraSpark_

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**And dem favorites :3**

**1) **_Playing in the Sun_

**2) **_Shinny Star_

**3) **_StoryandSongwriter101_

**4)** _xRosslintonxraurax_

**And I probably won't do the favorites and follows every time, but this was the first chapter, so yeah.**

**Okay. You guys met Ally. Now it's time to meet Austin! This chapter isn't as long, but I feel like it packs a lot, so I hope it's okay :)**

**Follow, Favorite, and Review! Got any questions for me? Review them or PM me! I'll answer all of them!**

**This chapter is dedicated to** _StoryandSongwriter101_ **because she Followed, Favorited, and Reviewed my first chapter. Thanks :3 and enjoy!**

**Love Ya'll!**

* * *

><p><strong>Austin's POV<strong>

"Hey Dez. Did we have English homework?" I ask. Dez looks up from his tablet and shrugs.

"How would I know? We aren't taking the same English class."

"You sit next to me Dez," I sigh. "We took a partner quiz yesterday. You were my partner."

"Oh yea! I remember now." He looks back at his tablet and I roll my eyes.

"So did we have English homework?" I repeat.

"What?" Dez asks, looking back at me.

"Never mind Dez."

"'Kay buddy! Well, I gotta go. I have English in a few minutes," He chirps.

"I know," I groan. "I'm in your class."

"Really?"

"Yes Dez."

"Cool! See ya there!" He sing-songs before running down the hallway, tablet in hand. I sigh and close my locker next to me.

"Hey Austin." I hear behind me. I swing my backpack over my shoulder and turn around.

"Oh. Hey Katie. What's up?" I ask. She smiles and pushes her hair behind her ear.

"I was just wondering, since you know, we have History together and I noticed that you've been single for a while and..." I roll my eyes and start to ignore her, knowing this will go on for a while. As she continues to talk, I nonchalantly look around the hallway.

Marino High isn't anything special. Just over a thousand kids, trying to make it though just enough to have a future. There are a group of soccer players to the left, hanging around some of the girl's swim team members, a few art kids lying in the hallway and listening to music, and random kids here and there. I watch Cassidy pass by and walk up to a pair of girls at the far end of the hallway. They're hugging and smiling. I bet they're having more fun than I am.

"But since my volleyball team doesn't have a game tonight and like I said, I have little homework and you seem to be in the classes with the awesome teachers that rarely give homework and the football team doesn't have practice today because it's a Friday, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to see a movie? Or we could grab a burger? Or play mini-golf? Or just hang at my place and talk? Or-"

"Katie," I interrupt. She smiles and takes a small step towards me. "Sorry, but I actually have a lot of homework and my family's going out of town this weekend for my cousin's sweet sixteen."

"Oh that's okay. How about we go on Monday, or because the football team has practice we could go Tuesday, but I might have volleyball, so Wednesday. Wait, there's football practice then to, which also rules out Thursday, and Friday is the big game against the Crocodiles and next weekend I have a volleyball tournament in Tampa."

"Katie."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe another time, okay?" She smiles again and nods her head, shaking lose the hair she previously tucked behind her ear. She reaches up to fix it and I nod.

"Okay," She mumbles. I turn to head to English and Cassidy bumps into my arm.

"Who was that, huh?" She teases. "She gonna be your date to homecoming?" I laugh and shake my head.

"No. Katie's cool and all, but I don't think I'm going to homecoming," I explain. Cassidy stops and pulls me back.

"What? You have to go."

"I don't know. Homecoming is just, like, a giant grind fest," I chuckle. Cassidy starts laughing and shoves me slightly. I see her turn to face behind us quickly and wink. I furrow my eyebrows and watch her. "What?"

She turns to face me again and smiles. "Nothing. But come on, it's homecoming. That one night a year you get to ask that special someone to dance." She steps a little closer to me. "Then you laugh and smile and bring her home. You try to sneak a kiss on her front porch before her dad comes out. And then you can't stop thinking about her all weekend."

"You think about this too much," I tease. I bump my shoulder on hers. "If I wanted to go to a dance, I'd go to prom."

"But prom isn't for _months,_" She whines. I smirk and look down at her.

"Exactly."

* * *

><p>"So Kira," I start. "If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?" She taps her chin thinking and smiles at me.<p>

"Definitely strawberries."

"Really?"

"Hands-down."

We were currently sitting in my living room, having a lazy Sunday. Me on the couch, sprawled out, staring at the ceiling, Kira on the chair, sitting sideways and swinging her feet, Dez in the desk chair from the next room, backwards with his legs around the back of it, tucked underneath as he spins around aimlessly, and Jamie was sitting on the back of the couch, her feet on my stomach.

"Strawberries are gross," Jamie speaks up.

"Nuh uh!" Kira screams, sitting straight up in the chair so her knees are against her chest and crossing her arms above them. "They are the single best thing the world has ever made!"

"Pancakes," I hum to myself. Jamie looks down at me and smirks.

"Seriously Kira, they aren't that great," Jamie argues.

"I like ham," Dez whispers from the corner on his chair. We all quirk an eyebrow at him, but ignore it as it is his usual behavior.

"If strawberries didn't exist, I would cry and jump off a bridge," Kira says, returning to the original topic.

"Technically, if they didn't exist, you couldn't miss them or get upset about not having them because you wouldn't even know what was missing. It would be like if jibbers were a vegetable. It isn't, so none of us know what they are. Therefore, we can't miss them," I explain.

"I wonder what a jibber would be," Jamie ponders. I laugh and push her leg. She smiles at me and shakes her head.

"I don't know, but I'm not crying about them or jumping off a bridge due to lack of their existence," I state pointedly to Kira. She shrugs and leans back again.

"Strawberries are still the best."

"I think mine would be whipped cream," Jamie answers.

"No one asked you."

"Shut up Kira," She teases.

"You know," I begin. "If we put our three together, we could make one hell of a breakfast," I mumble. Jamie's eyes widen and her mouth opens slightly.

"I want that. Like, now," She says.

"Wanna go to Melody?" I suggest. We all nod and get up to grab our shoes and coats. Dez spins a few more times before getting up and stumbling to my car.

"Being dizzy is weird."

* * *

><p>After a short five minute drive to the mall, we all walked to Melody Diner and ordered pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Except Dez. He got a pot pie. Mindy brought him three. He only ordered one.<p>

We all ate and laughed and may or may not have started a whipped cream war. Small details. When we finished, we decided to just walk around the mall.

"I haven't walked around here in a while actually," Kira speaks up.

"I always come for Melody and then go home," Jamie agrees.

"Really?" I ask. "This is one of my favorite places. I'm here, like, all the time."

"Me too!" Dez smiles.

"I know. You come with me," I laugh. He shrugs and runs off to the pet store. "I guess we'll all meet up later."

"Wanna go dress shopping for homecoming?" Jamie asks Kira. She nods and they walk off in the other direction. I shove my hands in my pockets and walk toward Sonic Boom.

"Homecoming isn't for two weeks. Why is everyone so excited?" I ask under my breath.

"Because it's a giant school event and all the dresses came in this week. Next week all the good ones are gone," Someone answers. I look up and notice that I'm already in Sonic Boom, the only music store within fifteen miles of Miami. Sitting on the counter is the girl from the locker on Friday. There's a magazine in one hand and a lollipop in the other. She smiles when I look at her and closes her magazine.

"What?" I manage to mutter.

"You asked why everyone was so excited. I answered."

"Oh. Uh, sorry about that. I tend to talk to myself."

She smiles and hops off the counter. I watch as she puts the magazine away on the bench and throws away the stick to her lollipop.

"So, what brings you to sonic boom?" She opens her arms and gestures to the store. I shrug.

"Nothing really. I was just with some friends and they went homecoming shopping and stuff," I explain. She nods along and walks behind the counter. "You work here?" I ask her.

"Yeah. My dad owns the place. But I get what you mean about homecoming. Never really saw the appeal to it." A smile breaks out on my face and I lean on the counter, facing her.

"Finally someone that gets it!" We laugh and the door opens. She glances over my shoulder and smiles. I turn to see her friend from the locker on Friday walking through the door.

"Trish!" She screams. She runs up to the shorter girl and wraps her in a hug. "You're actually on time!"

The girl, Trish I guess, laughs and hugs back. "I wasn't going to be late on my first day. I have a bet to win."

I turn completely and lean back against the counter. "You work here too?" Trish pulls away and looks up at me.

"Uh. Yeah. Who are you?" She asks cautiously. I chuckle.

"I'm Austin. I'm here pretty often. I'm sure you'll see me again."

"Sorry Austin. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to show Trish the ropes," She explains. I nod and start walking toward the door.

"See ya around..." I trail off.

"Ally," She smiles.

"Ally. See ya around Ally."

* * *

><p>Mondays are the worst. Especially when you missed half of Friday because your mom 'accidentally' scheduled your dentist's appointment during school hours. I missed math, history, gym, and music. To say I was having a bad day, was the understatement of all understatements.<p>

"Austin, I swear you missed nothing. I'm in your math and history classes. We had no homework and went over no new material. Just review for the tests this week. I don't have gym with you, but it's gym. How much could you miss? And well, what do you even do in music?" Kira asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. My schedule was messed up, so I had to get it changed and I just now switched into this class. It's two weeks in and I don't even know what we're doing yet!" I complain. My hand runs through my hair as I let out a sigh.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure you'll know someone that'll help you catch up."

"I hope so. But for now, I have to go to Sociology. Studying people is so gross." Kira laughs and turns to walk down the hallway. At least lunch is after this.

"Today in class you will pick partner for your new beginning of the year project!" Mr. Thompson enthusiastically waved his arms around at his desk. "I'll be handing out the papers now. When you get your paper you may pick your partner." He started walking down the first row of desks, placing a sheet on each one. "For the first half of your project, you and your partner will make a video about your life at Marino high as juniors. It should include your memories of the year so far: who your friends were, who your enemies were, and any major events that happened, and so on." He started walking back up the second row where I was sitting. I took a paper and he continued talking. "You will include your hopes and dreams for your senior year. But, the only catch is, they have to be hopes and dreams that you and your partner share. So if only one of you want to, say, go to prom, then you can't include it in the video. To go along with the video, each of you will create a checklist. These will be completely separate. The list will be typed, colored, and laminated. It will be a list of everything you want to do senior year. I know some of you won't even use it when senior year comes around because I won't be your teacher and I won't be able to make you, but you will still make it for this class now. The project is not due until the day before finals, so you all have four weeks." He started down the third row and I turned to Dez who was sitting directly behind me.

"Partners?" I ask. He nods his head while reading the rubric.

"Yeah. Come to my house after school today."

"Cool. But I have practice, so five?"

"Yeah. That works. My mom will be out for dinner with work though."

"Fine by me." I turn back around and start reading over the rubric myself.

"Now." I looked up and Mr. Thompson was leaning on his desk. "For the second half of the project. In two weeks, the first half of your project will be due. That is the regular partner video. But when you finish that, I will pick another pair of partners to match with you. That group will watch each other's video and split into two new partnerships. With your new partner, you will learn about what they want for their senior year and how they spent their junior year. You each will make separate videos about what that person taught you and how they effected your choices for senior year. Then, you will type up a new checklist and I will grade you on the amount of change it made from the first one."

"Are we presenting the videos to the class?" Someone asked from behind me.

"No. The only people to watch the first video will be me and the partners I pair you with. The only people that will see your second video will be your new partner and me. So, any other questions?"

I looked around the room and saw that girl Trish with her hand raised. Mr. Thompson pointed to her.

"Are you picking our original partners?"

"No. I just pick the group match up. You pick your original partners. With that said, go find your partners now."

I turned back to face Dez as I shoved the rubric in my folder.

"Who do you think we'll get as our group?" I ask, starting a conversation.

"I don't know." He looks around the room. "I hope it's either Trent and Matt or Dallas and his new girlfriend."

I turn to see Dallas with his girlfriend on his lap and they start making out. Don't get me wrong, Dallas is a great linebacker, but watching him play tonsil tennis isn't exactly enjoyable.

"No. Not Dallas. Let's hope for Trent and Matt," I reply. Dez nods and looks back at me disgustedly. He must've seen Dallas, too.

"Yeah. I agree." I slid my folder into my backpack and zip it up, noticing that this class had only twenty seconds left.

"So how's football season going?" Dez asks, cleaning up his stuff.

"Our first game is this Friday. Then we have one Tuesday and then the homecoming game. I think the team looks in shape, but we never know until the first game," I explain.

"Well then we need a whole bunch of support for this game."

"How are you going to do that?" I question.

"Spirit," He smiles. I arch an eyebrow at him and his shoulders drop slightly. "And T-shirts. Lots of T-shirts."

"T-shirts?"

"Yeah. We can order a bunch and then sell them at school of Friday for everyone to show up and wear them. Everyone will want to come."

"Dez. I don't know how you do it, but you always have the greatest ideas."

"T-shirts," He repeats.

"Yeah. I heard you."

"T-shirts."

"Dez. I get it."

"T-shirts." The bell rings over head.

"I heard you the first three times!" I yell as we get up.

"T-shirts."

"Ugh!"

* * *

><p>"Everybody in!" Coach yelled from the sidelines. We all jogged over, leaving our small exercises behind. "We have our first game on Friday, correct?" He screams.<p>

"Correct!" We all chant in unison.

"So I want 110% out there. Got it?" He asks.

"Got it Coach!" We chant again.

"Now go hit the showers! You smell like pigs!" He smiles and we all laugh, hitting each other on the backs and taking our helmets off. I slid my mouthpiece out and jog up to Trent and Dallas.

"Hey guys," I start. "So I have a proposition."

"What is it?" Trent asks.

"T-shirts."

"What?" Dallas spits.

"We make T-shirts and sell them at school Friday before the game. So we have more support as we play and we might actually win."

"Why do we need support dude?" Trent points out.

"Because we're playing the Crocodiles and we haven't beaten them in fifteen years," I counter. Dallas shrugs and looks at Trent for an answer.

"Okay. Okay. When we doing this?" He caves. I pump my fist.

"Dez's place. Seven o'clock. Don't be late and bring anyone willing to help." We get to the locker room and disperse to shower and change.

* * *

><p>"Dez! Austin's here!"<p>

"One sec, Mom!" He calls. I smile at Mrs. Wade and slip my shoes off by the door.

"Sorry," I apologize. "I'm here a little early because we finished practice before we thought we would."

"How you guys doing this year?" She asks. I hold my hand up and tilt it back and forth to say 'so-so' and she nods. "You'll get there. I can feel it this year. You guys are going to do great."

"Thanks Mrs. Wade. I hope so."

Dez comes pounding down the stairs and comes up to stand by his mom. He must be at least six inches taller than her, but they look almost the same otherwise. Pale skin, red hair, freckles, skinny frame, it's all the same. They could be twins. Well, opposite gender twins, and one aged faster than the other, but you get what I mean.

"I don't know why you didn't do football this year," His mom pouts. "You had so much fun last year." I bite my cheeks to stop from laughing as Dez's face flushes.

He was actually on the math team last year, but convinced his dad that he joined football. And when his mom found out, there was no going back. He ended up having to join as the towel boy and lie saying he was always just on the bench as 'back-up', but she always believed him, so I guess it worked.

"Too much homework," He shrugged off rather quickly. I smirked at him and his mom checked her watch.

"Well I better be going. Be good you two. The T-shirt thing is okay as long as there aren't too many people here. No more than ten or twelve. And I want everyone out before ten-thirty. Except Austin. You're welcome to sleep over if you'd like. And please actually do your homework. You can't afford to fall behind. Either of you." We both smiled and nodded.

"We promise," We muttered in unison. Mrs. Wade laughed and left for her work dinner.

"Okay. So you want to actually start the project or just work on everything else so we have time for the T-shirts?" I ask Dez. We start walking up to his room and I pull out my phone to see if Trent or Dallas texted me. "Dez? Project or homework?"

"T-shirts," He whispers. I groan and throw my head back.

"We are not starting this again!"

* * *

><p><strong>Messages - - - - Dallas<strong>

_I hope it's okay if I brought a few_

_ friends? Be there in five._

_ How many is a few?_

_Just a few ;)_

"Okay Dez. Well Dallas is almost here and he has help, but I don't know who or how many."

"As long as it's not clowns."

"What?"

"It can't be clowns. You know how many of those suckers can fit in a car?"

"They aren't clowns Dez."

"Good."

"Although, you might be," I laugh.

"That's. Not. Funny. Austin."

"Sorry," I surrender. The doorbell rings and we stand up to go downstairs.

"How could you call me a clown?" Dez whimpers as we walk down the stairs.

"I said I was sorry. It was a joke Dez." I grab the doorknob and start to open it. "I didn't know you would take it so seriously."

"Take what so seriously?" A voice asks. I turn to the door to see Dallas with his girlfriend, that girl Trish, Cassidy, Trent, Anthony (he's on the football team, too), a girl with really short brown hair, a guy with longer black hair, a girl with long straight red hair, a guy with short brown hair and his arm around Ally.

"Okay first of all. This isn't a few. And secondly, to whoever just asked," I started.

"I did," Ally interrupted and raised her hand.

"Clowns. We were talking about clowns," I stated. She blushed and giggled and I laughed. "But seriously. There are eleven of you. Dez's mom said ten to twelve. Unless I've really messed up this whole math thing, this is thirteen."

"No, you're right," Cassidy spoke up. "But Travis was just driving most of us. He has a date tonight." The guy with longer black hair nodded and saluted me. My mouth formed an 'o' and Dez smiled.

"Then come on in everyone!" He piped up and opened his door all the way for everyone to fit through. The last two to enter were Ally and this short-haired guy and I closed the door behind them.

"So first off. Names." I clapped my hands together and stood on my toes to see everyone. "I'm assuming you all know each other, but I only know like half of you. So, I know Cassidy, Brooke, Dallas, Trent, Trish, Anthony, and Ally. And obviously Dez."

"I'm Margaret," The girl with really short brown hair spoke up. I nodded my head and looked at the girl with longer red hair.

"Sarah."

"Got it. Margaret and Sarah. Okay. And then there's..." I scanned the room and saw the guy next to Ally. "Who are you?" I asked. He looked up at me and tightened his arm around Ally's waist. She looked down uncomfortably.

"I'm Elliot."

"Of course you are. Not let's get started!"

* * *

><p>A hour and a half later, eight-thirty in case you were confused, we were all spread out in different rooms with different tasks. Margaret, Dallas, Sarah, and Dez were on snacks and refreshments. Which pretty much meant they were making dinner for everyone, since no one thought to eat before they came. Trent, Trish, Cassidy, and Elliot were on materials, so they were currently running to the store to get plain blue T-shirts, acrylic paint, and puffy paint. Me, Brooke, Anthony, and Ally were on virtual design.<p>

We all decided that it'd be easiest to design shirts online and then mass order them to sell at the school, but we were all really pumped to make T-shirts, so we agreed that'd we'd each make our own T-shirt to wear on Friday for advertisement and stuff.

"Well I think we should make two options. Like, a yellow shirt and a blue shirt. Since Trish texted me saying they only had six blue so they grabbed yellow anyway," Ally suggested. I scrolled across the screen and opened the tab again.

"Okay, so we make a blue one with yellow print and a yellow one with blue print."

"Well there can be black and white on each one, too."

"So what do we want them to say?" I ask.

"Well I like what we came up with earlier. Where the front says 'You're reign's about to end.' and the back says 'Cuz Marion's here to defend.' What do you think Brooke?" She turned away from my laptop and looked to Brooke, who was currently on her phone smiling and giggling, no doubt texting Dallas even though he was in the other room. "Okay, Anthony?"

"It's great. Yeah," He mumbled as he yawned. Ally turned back to me and laughed under her breath.

"They aren't going to be a huge help. So what do you think?" She asked me.

"I like it. And then on the front we can have a crown hanging of the words and on the back we can have, like, the clashing swords behind it.," I suggest.

"Yeah! I really like that. And the crown and swords can be in black and white and the words will be either blue or yellow depending on the shirt."

"Perfect," I smile. I plan it all out of the website for the blue shirt and we both pause to study it.

"There's something missing," Ally mutters.

"I know. Um, what if we put 2014 on the bottom of the back?" I ask.

"That's it! Austin you're a genius." She wraps her arms around the back of my shoulders in a quick awkward hug and e laugh as I add it in. "This is too perfect," She claims.

"Let me just copy and paste onto the yellow shirt, and... Done!" We stand back to admire the work and cheer. After placing the orders for 750 shirts we reside to the kitchen with Dez, Margaret, Dallas, and Sarah.

"We finished," Ally announces.

"Can we see?" Sarah asks. Ally and I both shake our heads and laugh.

"It's a surprise. You have to wait until Friday," Ally explains.

Dez leans over and whispers to Dallas.

"Austin and Ally are plotting against us."

Dallas nods and chuckles as he mixes something in a bowl.

"Austin and Ally. The T-shirt making Dynamic Duo."


	3. III: Ally

**Heyyy! Guess who's back for chapter three? And yes I know it's like SUPER DUPER UPER late, but I'm sorry! Three weekends ago was my homecoming and I was busy all weekend and then the weekend before that I was busy also and then last weekend, well I don't have an excuse, but I was in Wisconsin so FUN, but anyway, I promise I'll do better! Anyway, it's me! This story is really starting to go somewhere. There's some drama in this chapter, beware.**

**But there's also an ADORABLE Auslly moment and you're going to absolutely love me.**

**But it's closer to the end so you have to read for it. And don't just go looking for the moment (yea I'm talking to you) because the situation won't make sense if you skip to it. A lot leads up to this moment. (and it gets a little PG-13 up in there so YAYYY)**

**AND PS IF I FORGET TO UPDATE, PM ME! I'M A FORGETFUL PERSON XD**

**But anyway... SHOUT-OUTS!**

**Jocellita623:** _I've been getting so many requests for notecards! I think I'm just going to post another story on my account and make it a bunch of notecards for the game. That sound good?_

**SakuraSpark:** _You're welcome for the shout-out! Here's another!_

**Kitkatsmeow:** _Thanks :3_

**xxSmileYoureBeautifulxx:** _Love your penname btw! But thanks. If you think they're adorable now wait until you read this chapter XD_

**karenlol: **_You are the first person to actually comment about Ally and Elliot. Cudoos to you._

**princesscrazy124:** _I wouldn't say I'm incredible. I'm just learning like everyone else on here, but thanks :) You made my day._

**Shinny Star:** _I agree that the Elliot part feels wrong, but it helps the plot, promise. And it only gets better from here :)  
>P.S. Elliot isn't really in this chapter, so you're welcome XD<em>

**StoryandSongwriter101:** _I know my chapters don't usually fall together until somewhere in the middle, but it's worth it. And you're welcome for the dedication! Thanks for actually reading my author's note XD_

**TheLightBeforeWeLand:** _Thanks for the review! I'm sorry I kept you waiting! Here's the chapter. Enjoy!_

**I'm dedicating this chapter to NeonShoeStrings becuase she's letting me adopt a story of hers and I'm so so so excited. I'll be posting it in a month or two so keep an eye out :)**

**Love Ya'll :3**

* * *

><p><strong>Ally's POV<strong>

"Trish!" I screamed into the phone and cleared my throat. "My dad is going to be here in five minutes to check up on the store. Your shift started ten minutes ago. Where are you?"

"I'm sorry okay? I'm running through the mall right now. Gimme three minutes!" I sigh and turn toward the door to see if anyone's coming in.

From behind the counter at Sonic Boom I have the absolute perfect view of the courtyard. All the tables, the people, the fountain, even the small pond and the benches. It's a blessing and a curse. I get distracted easily.

Out in the courtyard, I notice some girl standing by the pond who's back is jumping up and down like she's breathing heavily. I was about to go and see if she was okay, but she turned a little to talk to her friend and I noticed it was Trish. I squeezed my phone tighter by my ear and let out a long, slow breath.

"Trish," I growled. "I can see you."

I watched her turn around and smile shyly. She shrugged and mouthed 'sorry' toward me. I shook my head and ended the phone call, setting my cell on the counter. Just then, a body blocked my view and I jumped slightly.

"Are you okay?" They asked. I sigh and plaster a smile on my face.

"Yeah. Sorry."

I look up to see Austin leaning against the counter with both hands, a concerned smile across his face.

"You sure? Cuz it looked like you were about to kill someone," He joked. He turned to look over his shoulder into the courtyard. "Who were you looking at anyway?"

I chuckled under my breath and he looked back at me. My gaze dropped to the counter almost instantly. "Trish."

"Trish? Aren't you guys like best friends?"

A customer walks up behind him and he steps to the side so they could step up. I started ringing the guy up and shrugged my shoulders.

"We are," I stated simply.

"Uh. Then why are you trying to kill her?" He asked, clearly oblivious to the fact that she was now walking toward the store behind him. I handed the customers his bag and smiled.

"Have a nice day!" Then, I turned back to Austin who had been watching me and waiting for an answer. "I got her a job her because she's my friend and has been having trouble getting a job recently."

"Oh. I still don't get it." He placed both hands on the counter and leaned forward toward me. "Why are you mad?"

"Because her shift started over ten minutes ago and she just blindly lied to my face about being late," I explained. Austin nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Hey Ally-gator! How's the store doing?"

I turned around to see my dad walking through the back door that led directly to the parking lot. He was carrying a box and a clipboard in his hands. And appeared to be struggling.

"It's doing well. What's in the box?" I asked. He let out a grunt as the box almost fell and Austin ran around the counter to help him set it on the floor in the corner. They both returned to the counter.

"Thanks," my dad said to Austin. Austin nodded and picked up a magazine to let us talk. "The box has a few new guitars in it," he chirped. I smiled and walked toward the box. "Where's Trish?"

"I'm right here," Trish responded as she popped up from behind the violin rack. I rolled my eyes. _Right. She was right there. Of course._

"Oh hi Trish!" My dad waved and left to go into his office.

"Yea. Hi Trish. Nice of you to show up," I shot sarcastically.

"Look Ally. I'm really sorry! But I didn't get fired so the bet's still on right?" She walked up to me and locked her hands together like she was praying for me to give her another slide-by.

"No Trish. The bet is not on!" I was working on ripping the tape off the box as I yelled at her. "You're being completely careless and irresponsible! And then you _lied_ to me! We're best friends Trish. You don't lie to your best friends! I'm so angry I can't even- Ugh!" I ripped at the tape and it snapped off and made me smack myself in the chin. "What is with this goddamn tape?" I screamed.

"Ally. I'm sorry, okay?" Trish pleaded. "I really am."

I ripped at the tape again and a chunk of the box ripped off the top.

"Ugh! I just- Just leave Trish!"

"What?" She squeaked out. I took a deep breath and released the tape from my grip.

"I said get out Trish. You're fired," I said as calmly as I could. "I'll give you your check at school."

"But Ally! I promised-"

"No Trish. No more promises. I'm done. Just go."

She nodded her head and wiped a tear from her cheek. I hated seeing her so sad, but she lied to me and I was beyond pissed. I watched as she left and took a deep, shaky breath. Austin walked over and watched me as I regained my composure. He kept opening and closing his mouth like he was going to say something, but never did. Instead he pulled a pocket knife out of his jeans and opened the box for me. I watched as he cut the tape down the middle and pulled the lid open. Just him being so nice threw me over the edge.

Tears fell from my eyes and I rammed my forehead into the wall.

"Ally?" I heard him ask. "Are you okay?" I shook my head and turned around to lean backwards against the wall.

"No. I'm not."

"Want to talk about it?" He asked quietly. Almost like he was afraid of my answer. I stood still for a second studying him.

Blonde hair that fell over his forehead, but was always out of his eyes. His eyes, which were the perfect shade of hazel and brown. Broad shoulders and big build. He was probably over six feet tall.

And yet, here he was, watching me with the ghost of a smile and a concerned glint in his eyes. He didn't even know me. He didn't even know who I was.

Who was he to ask if I wanted to talk about my problems?

"No." I snapped. "I'm fine."

A few more tears ran down my cheeks as he took a step back, clearly taken by surprise at my response. Just as he was about to say another thing, I ran around him and up the stairs to the practice room.

Aware of his eyes following me as I left.

* * *

><p>School had always been confusing for me. Not the classes and the learning. No, that I always knew. I always understood. I aced every test and quiz. Turned in all my homework. Schoolwork was never a problem. But the school itself never made sense. I wasn't popular. But I wasn't invisible. I had friends and people knew me. I was liked and I knew that. But still, I had always felt lonely at school. Which was what confused me. Because no matter how alone I was, school had been my safe haven. I found myself looking forward to it every morning as the bus hit every pothole and ran over every curb. I anticipated when summer would end and I'd get to sit in the uncomfortable blue chairs for hours on end five times a week.<p>

Except today. I woke up like I normally did. Five o'clock sharp. Took a shower. Got dressed. Ate breakfast with my dad. Said good-bye to my dad at five forty-five when he left for work. Washed the dishes from breakfast. Went upstairs to do my hair and makeup. Checked my backpack. And depending on how much time I had left, I'd make myself lunch. If I was running late, my dad left five bucks on the counter everyday just in case to buy lunch.

But today, I found myself walking to the bus stop without a bounce in my step. I sat in the middle of the bus instead of the front and I stared out the window instead of talking to people in my neighborhood. I had my headphones in instead of asking the bus driver to turn on the radio. Today was different.

I didn't want to go to school. Trish and I hadn't talked since the fight and I knew she told everyone about what happened because I had gotten a call from Elliot asking if I was okay. I immediately hung up and didn't answer my phone the rest of the night. I was a hundred percent sure that everyone was going to be asking questions and trying to comfort me. I was also sure that Cassidy and Elliot were going to be all up on the bet with Trish, which would only make things worse.

I however, was not sure that as soon as I got off the bus, Austin would be waiting for me by the school entrance.

"Hey Ally!" He called when he saw me step off. I groaned and looked at my feet as I walked with the crowd toward the door, hoping I could avoid him. If only. "Ally," he called again. I took a deep breath and stopped walking, making someone run into my back and curse under their breath before walking around me. I didn't look up until I felt his hand around my elbow, pulling me out of the traffic. He continued walking until we were up against the wall on the side of the building, around the corner from where the buses unloaded. We were successfully out of view.

"What?" I muttered, returning my eyes to my feet. As he spoke I focused on his shoes.

"Look, I know I don't know you that well." He wore a pair of converse. "But yesterday at the store," The converse were black high tops. "I don't know exactly what happened," The laces on the left shoe were horribly uneven. "And I have no place here," They looked like he'd had them for years. "And the timing is absolutely horrible," His shoe size had to be at least 10. At least. "But are you replacing Trish anytime soon?" His feet shifted uncomfortably and I looked up at him, finally making eye contact.

"What?" Was all I could manage out.

"Could I have a job? At the store. Working. With you?" His voice cracked slightly at the end and I smiled a little before returning to a stony expression.

"Um," I stuttered. "I could ask my dad. I mean, you'd need an interview and everything. But I could look into it," I explained. He broke out into a huge grin.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome?" I chuckled. "Um, can you stop by today after school?"

"Yea. I'll drive right over there," He suggested.

"Well, my bus drops me off around 3:30, but if you want to just wait outside in the courtyard I could find you when I get there and we could figure it out."

"Or I could just drive you." He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal, but my head stopped functioning. I've never ridden with anyone. And I know I'm probably overreacting, but what would everyone think if they saw me leave school with him.

"Uhh," I tried, but nothing else came out. Austin must have notice my discomfort because his eyes widened.

"I mean, if you don't want to that's cool. It was just an idea so we didn't have to wait and meet up."

"No. I mean, yes. Um." He smiled at me as I swallowed and I immediately looked back at my feet.

"Is that a yes or a no?" He joked.

"Um. Yea. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"What's your last hour class?"

"Eighth hour I have, uh, Music, with Ms. Zinger."

"So the art hallway?" He asked. I nodded my head and he took a breath. "Okay. I have gym, so I'm sort of in the middle. You wanna meet by my locker? It's right outside the cafeteria. Has my name on it for football I think. They should have it up by now."

"Um okay. My locker's around there so I'll grab my stuff and meet you there."

"Great," He smiled. I smiled back and we awkwardly stood there for thirty seconds.

"Um. I still gotta go to my locker now though, so I better go."

"Want me to walk you?" He asked. I looked back up at him and shrugged my shoulders. We were pretty much friends right? No harm done.

"Sure."

* * *

><p>"So I'm not sure how much of this project you all have started considering I assigned it Monday and it's only Thursday, but I want to remind you that it is due in a week. I will be collecting your checklists and videos next Friday. Because I understand that some of you have busy schedules, I have generously moved around the curriculum so you ca have today, tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday to work in class with your partners. I expect you all to be working. I can easily move the curriculum back and have you all learn about some unnecessary thing for the next week. Get to work."<p>

I picked up my backpack and walked over to the desk in front of Trish's. I know I was mad at her, but my grades always come first.

"So we didn't exactly get anything done on Monday after school," I started. She nodded her head and picked at her fingernail. "Where do you want to start?"

"I don't know," She muttered, shrugging one shoulder.

"Let's just make a list of friends and enemies to put into the video," I suggested. She shrugged her shoulder again. "Okay then," I sighed. Turning around in my seat, I took out a piece of paper and started writing down some names: Elliot, Trish, Cassidy, Brooke, Dallas, Anthony, Margaret, Travis, Sarah. The list was just our inner circle. But I didn't really have other friends. Yeah, I talked to a lot of people, but we were more of acquaintances, not friends. I wouldn't invite them over to my house for a sleepover or a pizza party. I guess they were all then.

On to enemies. Did I have any enemies? I mean, of course there were times when I was mad at my friends or couldn't stand someone, but they weren't exactly enemies.

Wait. That's good. My friends are my enemies. I wrote down the same list of people again, except this time under enemies instead of friends.

Next was stuff I did junior year. Major events in my life. I mean, it was the end of junior year in three weeks, I should have _something. _Right? Yet I don't. My life this year has been pretty boring. I go to school. That's it. I mean, my mom passed away over the summer, but is that something I share? I got a dog. I guess I made a few new friends. I got the job at Sonic Boom. I joined track in the fall, but quit because I didn't have time for it. That's it though.I didn't go to homecoming. I didn't go to junior prom. I've really done nothing.

"Hey Ally?" Someone whispered, ripping me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Austin sitting in the desk in front of me smiling.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Do you have any idea what we're supposed to be doing? My life isn't interesting enough to put on paper," He joked. I felt myself smile and I folded the corner of my paper. Back and forth. Back and forth.

"I'm sure your life is more interesting than mine," I muttered. I stole a glance at him to find him looking at my fingers as I bent the paper, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"I doubt it."

"Come on. You're Austin Moon. You're the star quarterback. You're the strongest guy on the basketball team. You run track and you're the fastest guy out there. You have to have something."

"Nope. Nothing," He shrugged. I rolled my eyes at him and he scratched the back of his neck. When Elliot does that he's nervous. I wonder if it's the same for Austin.

"Nothing?" I asked. "No big games, impressive wins, cheerleaders carrying you down the field," I joked. He just looked at me as I giggled and shook his head.

"This isn't some cheesy novel Ally."

"Oh isn't it?" I asked. The bell rang overhead and before Austin could respond I picked up my backpack and my notebook and walked out the door, head held high.

* * *

><p>"Hey Ally. Um, can we talk?" I looked up and saw Trish standing by my locker. It was the end of the day and I was grabbing everything I needed for homework.<p>

"Yea. Where you wanna talk?"

"The fountain in the courtyard? Right after school?" She asked. I zipped up my backpack and closed my locker.

"I can't. I'm meeting someone." She picked at her fingernail and nodded her head.

"Oh. Okay. Um, can I meet you at Sonic Boom around 4?"

"I don't Trish. Austin's driving me to work and then I'm interviewing him for a job. I don't know when we'll be done," I explained.

"You're already interviewing people?" She choked on her words and I almost felt bad.

"Well Austin asked about the job after what happened yesterday."

"He knows?"

"He was there Trish. He saw the whole thing happen," I sighed. How could she be so oblivious?

"Oh, uh. Okay. Just text me when you can."

"Okay." I picked my backpack up and lifted it on top of my shoulders. "I gotta go. Austin's waiting for me." I didn't wait for her to answer before I turned around and walked down the hallway toward the cafeteria.

Down the hallway I immediately spotted Austin at his locker. He was bending over to grab something at the bottom and push it into his backpack. There were three or four guys around him talking and laughing. He stood up and laughed toward the guys before closing his locker and his backpack. They stood and talked a little longer before a girl walked up. I recognized her as Chloe Mason, varsity cheerleader and caption of the dance team. She wasn't mean or snobby or anything, but she hung all over guys like they were her lifeline. Currently she was gripping Austin's arm and smiling at everything he said. I laughed to myself and dodged around a few kids walking down the hallway.

As I got closer I could hear the conversation.

"Football practice is always fun though!" A red-head chirped. Austin shook his head and pointed at him.

"You don't even do anything except stare at that girl on the cheerleading team," He laughed. The red-head folded his arms and stuck his lip out like a pouting child. i suppressed a smile as Austin saw me walking up. he shook Chloe off his arm and picked up his backpack. His friends continued talking as they slapped his back and started walking down the hallway.

'Hey..." I started, but trailed off. Chloe was glaring at me and I'm not gonna lie, it was making me uncomfortable.

"Hey Ally. You ready to go?" Austin asked, oblivious to her stare. I nodded my head, not breaking eye-contact with Chloe as I walked closer. I stopped in front of Austin and she flipped her hair at me.

"Hmmf." And she strutted down the hallway.

Okay. Maybe she was a bitch.

"My cars out the back way," Austin explained.

"Okay." I turned away from where Chloe was walking and followed him through the school.

"What was that about?" He spoke up as we walked out the school doors.

"What was what about?" I asked.

"That thing with Chloe. She got really uncomfortable when you walked up and walked away like she was pissed or something."

I shrugged my shoulders and looked up at him. He looked down at me and held eye-contact waiting for an answer. "Uh. I don't know. I've never talked to her before," I explained. I looked back in front of me. "But it sure seemed like she liked you," I mumbled.

"What? Chloe? No way." He shook his head and waved his hands around. I widened my eyes at his and his cheeks tinted red. "I mean, yeah. She does, but I've told her multiple times that I'm not interested."

I nodded my head as we stopped at an old blue Chevy two-door pick-up truck. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for me. After I climbed in, he walked around the front and climbed in himself. I grabbed the seat-belt and tried clicking it in. It popped back out. I tried again. It still didn't work. Austin started the car and noticed I was having troubles.

"Oh. Sorry. It sticks sometimes." He took the belt from me and pulled it across my torso, alarmingly close to my hip. He pushed it in and slammed down on it with his fist. "There." I pulled on it to be sure and smiled at him when it stayed.

"Thanks." He smiled and pulled out of the school A few minutes down the road he turned the radio down and I looked over at him. Both his eyes were on the road, but his mouth was slightly open and he was picking at the steering wheel.

"I don't like her," He spit out. I was about to ask who when he turned to look at me and started talking again. "Chloe. I don't like her," He clarified. I nodded my head and he turned back to the road.

"Okay."

"I just wanted to get that out there."

"If you don't like her, who do you like?" I asked. He glanced at me out of the side of his eye and took a deep breath.

"Someone I have no chance with."

* * *

><p>"Hello again," Austin said. He held his hand out toward my dad. My dad sent me a questionable look and took Austin's hand in a firm shake.<p>

"Hello."

"Uh, dad. Austin wants a job here," I explained. He nodded and walked into his office.

"You think I'll get it?" Austin asked. I could tell he was nervous and I couldn't help but laugh. "What?"

"You already got the job," I laughed. He looked at me and furrowed his eyebrows. "He knows you now. He's not a really professional guy. The interview will be him asking for your name, your age, and your phone number. No lie."

"Wait. Really?" I watched his shoulders relax and he let out a breath. I held back a giggle as my dad walked back out.

"Okay. Just need you to answer a few questions," My dad started. "What's your name?"

"Austin Moon."

"Age?"

"Seventeen. I turn eighteen in January."

"Okay. And could you just write your phone number here on this clipboard?"

"Yeah." Austin took the board and quickly scribbled down on it before handing it back to my dad.

"Welcome aboard Austin. I'll have you officially start on Monday, but I recommend you have Ally show you around a little before then."

"Thank you sir," Austin reached out to shake his hand again.

My dad reached out toward him. "Call me Mr. Dawson."

"Okay. Thank you Mr. Dawson."

My dad left to go back into his office and Austin leaned against the counter.

"That wasn't too bad. Was it?" I asked.

"Not at all," Austin laughed.

"Welcome to Sonic Boom," I giggled. "May the odds be _ever_ in your favor." We both laughed and then I showed him around.

I showed him wear each of the instruments were kept and how we set them up. I showed him the storage room where the boxes and spare items were kept and I briefly showed him my dad's office. I explained how the register worked and gave him a run down on customer satisfaction. We made up a schedule for him to work by and set up a payment plan.

"What's this door?" Austin asked. I looked up from behind the counter and saw him at the top of the stairs, standing in front of the practice room door.

"Oh. Uh, that's my practice room," I started. I turned back to the customer at the register and handed him his bag. "Have a nice day. Come back again." I walked out after him and locked the door, flipping the 'open' sign to 'closed'. "Wanna see it?" I asked him as I threw the key in my backpack and shoved it under the counter.

"Can I?" He asked.

"I guess," I shrugged. "I don't use it much anymore anyway." I walked up the stairs to him and pushed the door open. The florescent lights flickered above me and the air from the room smacked me in the face. Austin inhaled sharply behind me and walked through the doorway behind me, straight toward the piano in the corner.

"This is amazing. What's the room for?" he asked, looking back up at me as I looked around.

"I used to come up here all the time to practice piano and guitar, but I guess I just lost interest."

"You play?" He asked, almost sounding surprised.

"Not a lot. Just enough to write songs. I used to write dozens a month, but I haven't written one in almost a year," I explained.

I looked around the room, taking in all the memories of me and my friends up here, rocking out on instruments that had gotten damaged in the store. My mom would always come up with snacks and a camera, laughing at us and hanging out a long as possible before my dad called her back down to the store to help him with the customers. I felt my heart clench and my eyes tear over.

"Why not?" Austin asked, innocent to my instant mood change.

"Things changed. I lost inspiration."

"Maybe you'll find it again," He suggested. I let out a strangled laugh and wiped a tear as it fell from my eye.

"Yeah. Maybe." Austin walked toward me and stopped just a few inches in front of me.

"You know, you, Ally Dawson, confuse the hell out of me," He whispered. I looked up into his eyes and watched as his searched my face. Almost as if he were trying to figure me out somehow by watching me just stand here and breathe. And be me. His eyes locked with mine and I noticed how much more detail was in them than I originally noticed. They weren't a brown hazel mix. They were a caramel with green fleck around the middle and a darker brown circle full of golden specks on the outside. They were beautiful.

"Ally! Are you here!" I jumped back slightly and looked down at my feet. Austin took deep breaths and ran his hand over the back of his neck. Again I wondered if he was nervous. "Ally!" I recognized the voice as Trish and groaned under my breath. "I'm here to talk to you. And this girl Chloe says Austin's in here and she needs to talk to him also!" I looked back at Austin who had begun pacing a few feet in front of me, biting his lip. I smiled for a second before I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Ally. I have an idea," Austin whispered. I nodded to agree and he walked up to me again. He reached over my shoulder to close the door behind me. "Just trust me, okay?" He begged me through is eyes and I couldn't breathe. What am I trusting him with?

"Okay," I whispered back. He grabbed my hand and led me to the piano bench. I watched as he sat down in the middle of it and motioned for me to follow. I tried sitting next to him, but he rolled his eyes and pulled me onto his lap so I was sitting on one of his legs, facing parallel to the piano. My cheeks felt hot and my hands tied themselves together.

The footsteps were getting closer.

"You said you know how to play piano?" He asked. I nodded my head. "Play something." I turned a little in his lap and placed my hands on the keys, playing a song I had written a few years ago for my mom's birthday. He watched my face as I concentrated and smiled at me when the song picked up. I felt one of his hands rest on the small of my back and the other reached out to the piano with me. He started playing chords that matched perfectly with mine. I never would have thought of those.

"What are you-" I started. He shushed me and smiled again.

"Keep going." I kept playing and he followed along magically, almost like he had heard the song before. I heard the door open behind me, but just as I was about to stop and turn around, Austin's hand moved around my back to my hip and squeezed reassuringly.

"Ally," Trish said. I ignored her and kept playing.

"Austin," Chloe whined. He ignored her and pulled me closer to his chest.I heard them simultaneously groan and couldn't help the smile that spread on my face. The song slowed toward the end and I was still amazed as to how Austin kept up the whole time. We finished on the same note and I was surprised to hear my heavy breathing when the music stopped. But I was more surprised when Austin pulled my down and kissed me on the forehead.

Then I could hear my breathing quicken. And then he lifted my thighs and set me across his lap, so I was straddling him. My cheeks felt like they were burning and I was suddenly aware of Trish and Chloe in my peripheral vision. Austin didn't seem to care though as he kissed each of my cheeks once, my forehead again, and then my nose.

Then I could hear my heartbeat. Chloe gasped and ran out. I glanced over to Trish to see her smiling. She nodded her head and waved at me, eyes twinkling with curiosity. And I knew we would be okay. I watched her leave before looking back at Austin. He stared at me for a few minutes and I stared at him. Unsure of what to do now.

"Uh, thanks," I muttered, clearing my throat. Austin blinked and inhaled.

"Uh yeah. Thanks to you too." I stood up and brushed imaginary lint off my jeans. Austin stood up and rubbed the back of his neck again.

"So, do you think Chloe will leave you alone?" I asked.

"What?"

"You know, so you can go after that girl you like?"

"Oh. I don't know."

"Oh," I mumbled, leaving us in an awkward silence. "Austin?"

"Yeah," He whispered.

"Are you okay?"

He watched me for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and running his hand through his hair.

"I gotta go," He stated. And he walked out the door, slamming it behind him and making me jump lightly.

Then I heard nothing.


	4. IV: Austin

**So I'm planning on posting like four chapters to catch up with how many I should have if I would've updated every Sunday like I told you I was going to. I posted chapter one on September 7th. I should six chapters by now and I only have three. Which I feel REALLY bad about, so here's another chapter and within the next week or two, I promise I will have caught up.**

**Promise on my life.**

**Anyway... I hope you all enjoyed that Auslly moment. I know, I know, they almost kissed and stuff, but neither of them like each other yet. Or do they? I don't know. Well, I do, but you don't. Mwa haha. This chapter expands on Austin and his back story and his life and yada yada yada. Then next chapter will be Ally and Trish working on their half of the project and finishing it and maybe turning it in. Then the chapter after that will be an overlap chapter like the first two about Austin and Dez finishing their project and possibly turning it in. Of course there's other stuff going on in these chapters, but I can't just give away the plot line, now can I?**

**But this chapter of course has Austin and Ally encounters. I was a little upset with myself at how fast the story seemed to be going, but I think I know how to pull it back a tad, so don't hate me, okay? It will happen.**

**It will happen.**

**There's only one shout-out because by the time I was posting this, only one person had reviewed on chapter three. It's not your fault, everyone probably forgot about my story because it took so long and I'm posting this like two days after chapter three.**

**But still, reviews are nice.**

**Mysterygirl122: **_Thanks. I try to make my stories sound like something that could actually happen in real life. You saying that actually meant more to me than you would think :) So thanks. And I am updating soon XD Very soon actually. Here you go! Review again, I love hearing everyone's opinions!_

**Trying2StayHopeful:** _Your review seriously made me laugh. And a lot of times I'll be like, lol or lmfao or OMG I died, but this review legit made me laugh, like I red it four times and still chuckle at it. Thanks so much and I love how much you love the story. You are one of the many reasons I write. So thank you. And because of your epic review...  
><em>

**I dedicate this chapter to Trying2StayHopeful! :) Hope you love it!**

**And now to the story! Sorry it's a bit shorter this time, but it still packs a lot.**

**Love Ya'll :3**

* * *

><p>I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, Chloe wasn't even that big of a bother. She would've taken the hint in a few days just like everyone else. I completely overreacted when I heard Trish say her name. I jumped to the first idea that popped into my mind.<p>

_Make her think you're taken._

Or at least interested in someone else, you know, details. So instead of making a big boy decision and just talking to her or something, I went and blew this whole thing out of proportion.

You're all probably thinking, "What's the big deal?" And you're right. It shouldn't be a big deal. It's not like I actually kissed her or like fell in love or something. But it's worse than you'd think. Chloe has a big mouth. And I'm pretty popular as far as juniors go because I play so many sports. Even if someone hasn't talked to me or seen me before, I've had my name on the announcements enough times for them to at least recognize it. And now Chloe went too far.

She went and told the entire cheerleading team that I was taken and in a 'committed relationship' with some girl at our school. Although she didn't say Ally's name, whether it was because she didn't know it or just didn't care, I don't know, everyone at the school now thinks I'm dating someone.

And everyone wants to know who.

"Wait. you have a girlfriend? Why didn't you tell me?" Trent asks. I had just gotten to my locker and he was already pouncing on me. I dropped my backpack to the ground with a _thud _and sent him a quick, but effective, glare. He crossed his arms and leaned against the locker next to mine, waiting for an answer.

"I don't have a girlfriend dumbass." I muttered, slamming my math book into my locker. "Chloe just saw me with someone and overreacted."

"I doubt it. For the past few weeks you've been spacing out and smiling at nothing. There's definitely a girl," He exclaimed. I groaned and closed my locker.

"So maybe there is a girl. But I'm not dating anyone."

"What are you trying to say dude?" Trent asked. He had never been the quickest at these things. I ran my hand down the side of my face and took a deep breath.

"I don't have a girlfriend. I'm not taken. There is no girl. I. Am. Single." He looked at me with an eyebrow raised and shook his head.

"There's totally a girl," He teased. I raised a fist in the air as a strangled groan slipped from my mouth. "Gotta go to class! See ya at practice today!" And he ran away.

"I'm not in a relationship!" I screamed after him. A few people turned to look at me. "What?" I questioned. "I'm not."

"Hey Austin!" I heard behind me. I turned around to see Cassidy practically bouncing toward me.

"Hey Cassidy. What's up?"

She stops in front of me and places her hand on her hip. "So I heard this rumor that you have a gir-"

"I don't have a girlfriend," I groaned. "For the love of Pete."

"Who says for the love of Pete? Are you in third grade?" She laughs. I crack a sarcastic smile at her and pick up my backpack.

"I'm going to class."

"I'm following you then," She declared.

"Why must you follow me?" I reply, trying to suppress a smile.

"Um. Because I have English with you first hour." She rolls her eyes at me and bumps her shoulder against mine. I let myself smile and bump her back.

"Yeah. I knew that. Obviously," I scoff. She giggles and starts walking faster. I jog a little to catch up before falling in step next to her.

"So guess what?" She practically screams in my ear. I look down at her.

"What?"

"I know someone that likes you."

"Oh you do now?" I tease. She nods her head, her hair bouncing slightly and looks back at me.

"I do. Except she won't admit it, so good luck with that."

"Do I know this mystery girl?" I ask. She nods again. I roll my eyes. It's obviously Cassidy. I'm not stupid. "And what's she like?"

"She likes music." _Cassidy. _"She's in our grade." _Cassidy. _"She's really smart. Get's good grades." _Cassidy. _"Works in the mall at a place that involves music." _Cassidy._ She works at Melody Diner. Like come on. Make it more obvious.

"Really?" I tease. She giggles.

"She has gorgeous brown hair and I swear her skin is perfect. I'm so jealous," She continues. I slow down and catch my breath.

"Wait." She stops and turns around.

"What?" I shake my head.

"Um. No- Nothing," I stutter. She shrugs her shoulders and continues walking to class.

It wasn't Cassidy. So who was it?

* * *

><p>"Hey Austin!"Dez chirps as he sits in front of me. "We really need to get started on this project man." I nod and stare straight down at my desk.<p>

Who do I know that has brown hair, loves music, get's good grades, has flawless skin, and works at the mall?

"Dude?" Dez calls, waving his hand in front of me. "Wake up!"

"Uh. Sorry," I whisper, ripping from my trance. "I'm just, uh, conflicted, no, uh, distracted, yeah, distracted today."

"What's distracting you?"

"Well, Cassidy said she knows someone that likes me," I choke. Dez just stares at me and blinks. I stare back and he bursts out laughing. Everyone in the room turns to look at him and I duck my head. When I turn to glance around the room, I notice Ally, with a hand over her mouth, giggling at me, her cheeks a rosey red and her hair falling out of her ponytail and into her face. I catch myself smiling and blushing as she rolls her eyes at me and shrugs her shoulders. I mouth 'help me' and she giggles again, shaking he head back and forth, causing a few more strand of hair to fall from her ponytail, framing her face. She mouths back 'sorry' and I groan, turning to rest my forehead on my desk.

When I turn back, Ally's face is beet red and Trish is grinning ear to ear, nodding her head and laughing. Trish points toward me and I pick my head up, noticing that most of the room has moved on. Ally glances at me and turns more red, a shy smile on her face. I grin and mouth 'sorry' to which she rolls her eyes and playfully flips me off.

"Dude. Cassidy so wants you," Dez chuckles from in front of me. I turn away from Ally to lock eyes with him, his face flushed from laughing and his teeth still showing.

"No. She doesn't. That's why I'm distracted."

"What? How do you know?"

"Because she was describing this girl and at first I thought it was her because she said she was smart, got good grades, loved music, worked at the mall, and worked at a place that involved music. She said I knew her and she's in our grade. I mean, that's totally Cassidy. But then she went on and said this girl had brown hair and flawless skin and that she was _jealous _of this girl. Cassidy's blonde and she's always complaining about having to wear make-up to cover pimples and stuff. So now I have no idea who it is that likes me." I pause to take a breath. "But it sounds like she's cool, right? So I want to figure out who it is. Get to know her, you know?"

Dez nods and glances at the clock. "Well, it's only third hour. I'm sure you can find Cassidy at some point today and ask her more about this girl," He suggests.

"What do I ask?"

"I know! Ask if she like giraffes! Or dinosaurs! And ask if this girl breathes fire or flies or if she can climb buildings!"

"Dez. I don't want to date spider-woman," I deadpan. He shrugs and picks up his backpack as the bell rings.

"Suit yourself."

* * *

><p>I already know every point during the day that I could possibly see Cassidy. It's not creepy. I like her. Okay? So I like seeing her. But if she doesn't like me. I can get over it. I've only liked her for like two weeks and I still barely know her. So it wouldn't be a big loss. It's not like I'm in love with her or anything. But still, there are tons of different times I could see her, yet I keep missing her today. Like, I'm too excited to find her, so I walk too fast and get there too early. So she isn't there when I pass. So when I got to lunch sixth hour, I had a mission.<p>

I knew she had lunch with me because I ran into her in line last week. I just had no idea where she sat. There were almost three thousand kids at our school. And with four lunch periods, that meant I had almost eight hundred kids to search through.

I had Dez, Trent, Cole, Brent, and me searching the cafeteria. Everyone had their phones in their hand, set on vibrate, and ready to text me if they found her. But we weren't having any luck.

I walked into the hallway to get a breath. The lunch room was always twenty degrees warmer due to all the people sitting in there. I walked around the corner to the school grounds, which is basically this hallway outside the cafeteria with a dozen or so four-person tables and a little coffee shop that sells muffins and stuff. I looked around for an empty seat and a certain girl caught my eye. I sent a quick group message to the guys and walked over to her table.

She was sitting alone. A bag of chips, a muffin, and a latte in front of her. Her pencil flew around the page of a book she was writing in and I sat down in front of her. She jumped a little in her seat and looked up to see who I was.

"Oh Austin! You scared me," She laughed. I watched her tuck her pencil into her book and close it, stuffing it into her backpack under the table, away from view.

"Hey Ally," I started. She smiled and picked at her muffin, ripping a piece off and placing it in her mouth. "Uh, two things."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"Well, first of all. Have you seen Cassidy? I kind of need to talk to her," I explained. Her face fell slightly and she leaned to look over my shoulder.

"She usually sits there," She pointed to a table in the corner where a few girls sat. I recognized one of them as Brooke, but the other two I've never seen before. "But today she had to talk to her math teacher about some extra credit because she didn't do so well on her last quiz."

"Oh. Is she coming back?" I asked.

"Yeah. She should be back in like five minutes."

"Okay thanks. And second," I began. She picked another piece of her muffin off and tossed it into her mouth. "You eat muffins wrong."

She giggled and set her muffin down. I waited for her to finish chewing and she shoved my shoulder across the table. "How do I eat them wrong?"

"You just bite them. Like this." I picked up her muffin and took a bite out of the top. Her mouth dropped open and she grabbed her muffin from me.

"You contaminated it," She joked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Guess I'll just have to eat the rest of it then." I reached for it across the table.

She jumped back and held the muffin out behind her. "No way bro. My muffin."

"Then eat it the right way." I crossed my arms and smirked at her.

"I didn't realize there was a right way to eat a muffin."

"There is. I just showed you."

"I eat it just fine." She brought it back to the table and ripped a chunk off. She continued to make a huge show off sticking it in her mouth and chewing. Her eyes closed and she moaned to prove the point. My stomach tightened and I couldn't help but smile.

"You're just mean," I teased.

"You're the one judging how i eat my food."

"Not my fault you have strange eating habits."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what eating habits are."

"Know-It-All."

"Critique."

"Smartass."

"Dumbass," She giggled. I quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Really now? You're resorting to swearing?" I teased again.

"You swore first!" She whined. I chuckled and grabbed her muffin. "Hey!"

"It's mine now."

She smiled and crossed her arms, trying to be stubborn. I smiled back and took a bite of the muffin. She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Can I at least have part of it?" She asked. I stroked my chin like I was thinking. "Come on. I paid for it."

"Fine. But only if you eat it the right way," I sang. She reached out and took the muffin, holding it up to her mouth, and dramatically taking a bite.

I made a face and took it back. "What?" She asked.

I looked at the muffin, then at her, than back at the muffin. "You just ate my spit," I said. She laughed and covered her mouth. I looked up at her and smiled. I took a bite and watched her stop laughing. She tightened her ponytail and noticed me chewing.

"Well then you just ate my spit," She replied. I smiled ear to ear.

"Maybe I wanted to."

"Ew! That's gross!" She laughed. A guy that I recognized from her house when we made shirts, maybe Allan or Albert or something, sat down next to her and swung his arm over her shoulder.

"Hey Ally," He chirped. She looked at me, then at him.

"Hey Elliot." That's his name. Elliot.

"What's gross?" He asked. She giggles again and took the muffin from me.

"Nothing," She calmly stated before staring into my eyes and biting the muffin.

* * *

><p>"Hey Cassidy!" I called. I ended up talking to Ally for the rest of lunch and forgot that I had to talk to Cassidy until after the bell rang. I missed her the rest of the day until now. It was after school and I had fifteen minutes until football practice. Cassidy had art club in twenty, so i had some time.<p>

She closed her locker and turned to me, shrugging her backpack onto her shoulder. "What's up?" She asked.

I ran up next to her and leaned against the locker. "So I had a few questions," I started.

"Let me guess," She interrupted. "About the girl I told you about."

"Yeah. Actually, I just want to know what she's like."

"Why don't you just ask who she is?" She questioned. I shrugged my shoulders.

"That makes it too easy. I want to find her. Get to know her. See if I like her. And then she if she matches the criteria. You know? If you told me, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the, well, the mystery. The chase. I want to have to think about it. To discover if she's the one," I explained. She nodded.

"There's a lot more to you then I would've thought."

"Trust me. There's way more than you could ever imagine."

"Well Austin. Dez found me after lunch on my way to seventh hour. He told me you were trying to find me to ask me about her. So I made a list." She pulled a paper out of her back pocket and handed it to me. "Good luck." She patted me on the shoulder and jogged down the hallway.

I watched her until she turned a corner, out of my view. The paper sat in my hands, looking up at me. On the outside, in Cassidy's scribble handwriting read one word.

_Her._

* * *

><p><em>Her.<em>

Here is a checklist of thirty things about her. I wrote it because for some reason, I have a gut feeling that you two are meant for each other. And trust me. My gut is never wrong. Don't lose this paper. It's your ticket to true love.

1) She's in our grade.

2) She's a genius. Good grades. Does her homework. All of it.

3) She works at the mall.

4) She has a job that involves music.

5) She has brown hair.

6) She has brown eyes.

7) She has flawless skin. [And I mean FLAWLESS]

8) She wears make-up, but she doesn't have to. [If she didn't, you probably wouldn't see the difference]

9) She keeps a journal.

10) She can play piano.

11) She can play guitar.

12) She writes amazing songs.

13) Her parents aren't together. [Don't ask me why, I don't know]

14) She lives with her dad.

15) She's an only child.

16) Her best friend is a guy.

17) Her favorite color is white.

18) She has a dog.

19) She loves hugs.

20) She wants a perfect nickname, but no one as come up with the right one. [I'm counting on you for this one]

Here's where it gets deeper...

21) She wants a real relationship.

22) She has trouble trusting people.

23) She's only ever let in five people. [Me, her best friends, one guy one girl, and her parents]

24) She has troubles expressing her feelings in person. [She does better writing them down]

25) She won't talk about her past.

26) She's never been in a relationship. [;)]

27) She hasn't had her first kiss. [;D]

28) She doesn't see faults in anyone.

29) Her favorite thing in the world is rain.

30) She loves you. [Maybe not yet, but she will]

Good luck,

...Cassidy :)


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'M SO SORRY

**Oh My God guys. So I was just rereading all the chapters for this story, for like grammar mistakes and all. And I totally realized that because I took so long in between updates, I messed the plot up so much. Like the project was beginning of the year and Austin had his classes switched and then it was end of the year and they were almost at summer time.**

**Homecoming was supposed to be coming up and then prom in a few months, but again, I made it the end of the year and messed it all up. And I'm really mad a myself for this.**

**You have no idea. I should be on top of my stories and I feel so bad for you guys because this story is for you and it has to be confusing as hell and UGH I feel so awful.**

**So this week, instead of updating like I should be to catch up, I'm going to be fixing the first four chapters and then next week I'll catch up for you all, okay?**

**Again I feel absolutely awful because I didn't care enough to refresh myself and then went and fucked the story up.**

**So, this week, just go ahead and forget my story exists and then next Sunday when there's an update, because there will be an pdate, just take the time to reread from the beginning in case I added new scenes or took out old ones.**

**I promise it'll be worth it.**

**Again, I am so so so so so so sooooooo sorry you guys.**

**Love Ya'll :3 -Ravyn**


	6. I'm a major BITCH I know

So there's no easy way to say this. I know I haven't been updating. I'm an ass. I know you all deserve better.

And I also know that this sounds a lot like I'm ending the story.

But I'm not. I will continue and I will finish. It's just that I'm doing this contest. I need 3 to 5 poems and a short story (less than 5000 words) entered by December 1st. And it sounded soooo easy. Like, I write all the time. How hard can it be to write one short story?

IMPOSSIBLE.

I want to win because you get a 30,000 dollar scholarship to this fantastic (literally amazing) art boarding school and I'd love to go. But that just means that everything has to be

P

E

R

F

E

C

T

PERFECT

And it's not. So I know I haven't updated. And I know I should be. But all my time has been about this contest and school (because junior year Sucks with a capital S) and my friends because things are complicated for some reason.

And (BIG NEWS HERE) I'm adopting a story! I can't tell you who's or what yet, but it's a Raura/R5 story which is new for me. When she announces the news I will too, but for now we're planning and I don't want to let her down, so this month if there are any updates, it'll be on that. Then after December 1st, after I entered my application for the contest, I'll start updating again.

I feel really bad for you guys. I really do. I want to update every single day for the next year just to keep you happy because you're the best readers EVER, but life has been busy lately.

I'll give you some hope. I already have three poems picked out. I have others written that need editing, but are pretty much done. (If you want to read them, I'm glad to share only if you promise to be honest about them) and I started the short story. I should be done before Thanksgiving, which I get a week off of school for, so I might actually update before Thanksgiving if we're all lucky.

If you're reading this, again I'm very very very very very very very sorry. I love you all and thanks for sticking with the story.

Love Ya'll

More to Come Soon

-Ravyn


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